When the Moon is Full
by MistressNyx
Summary: It’s Halloween night and the moon is full. When a little boy named Remus wanders away, he meets a very large wolf and it will change his life forever.


A/N: This is my first Harry Potter fic. I don't know if the idea's ever been done before, but I don't think so. I'm not sure if any information was given about Remus Lupin's heritage, so I made his mother a muggle, and his father and brothers wizards. This is about the night a three-year-old Remus Lupin became a werewolf. ^_^ Have fun.  
  
Summary: It's Halloween night and the moon is full. When a little boy named Remus wanders away, he meets a very large wolf and it will change his life forever.  
  
Rating: PG  
  
Author: LadyNyx  
  
Disclaimer: No, Harry Potter isn't mine. ::DO NOT insert crack about lawyers here, my parents are BOTH lawyers.oh dearie me.::  
  
  
  
When the Moon is Full  
  
  
  
  
  
Cania Lupin was a soft-spoken woman, about 5' 4", slender, in her early forties with mouse-brown hair (which had just started to gray), mild brown eyes, and a thin often-seen smile. Her hair was done up in a loose bun as she smiled at her group of ladies, happily bouncing her three-year-old son on her knee. He wore a somewhat annoyed expression, but he was very much like his mother, quiet and kind. His tiny pudgy face looked about at the circle of women, then back to the game of quidditch being played off in the field.  
  
It was Halloween night and the full moon shone yellow and bright. The Lupins had been invited to a party at the Arnold's house. Cania gazed into the green campfire, still marveling at the feats of the wizarding world, even after all these years. She stared at for several seconds, totally ignoring the chatter the witches that were her friends were making, until she felt a tug at her sleeve.  
  
"Momma!"  
  
"What is it, Remie dear?" she asked, crossing her legs so her son could see eye to eye with her.  
  
"I wanna go watch the game." Remie pointed his finger at the swerving figures in the air.  
  
"Of course, little one!" She smiled and stood up, shifting Remie to a more comfortable position on her hip. "I'm not little," he protested softly as Cania caught the eyes of two of the quidditch players. The gestured to their team-mates and swooped down to land right in front of the woman.  
  
"What is it, mom?" said one of them, a tall boy of about 16.  
  
"Can you take care of Remie for me? He wants to see the game."  
  
The other boy, who looked to be 11 or 12, pouted. "C'mon mom, he's such a baby!" As if to make his point, he poked Remie's pudgy stomach.  
  
Cania's usually mild brown eyes flashed angrily. "Aaron, Romule, not another word or I'll make you stop playing. Take him and be nice!"  
  
Romule, the elder, nodded his head dejectedly, but Aaron shouted, "That's not fair! Why can't you take him, it's YOUR job!"  
  
"You, young man, are grounded after tonight."  
  
"Bu-"  
  
"No buts." With that, Cania pushed Remie's chubby hand into Aaron's. "And keep him out of trouble."  
  
Aaron and Romule trudged back to the field, dejectedly hoisted their brooms over their shoulders. Cania smiled at them and returned her attention to her friends.  
  
"-and so there are these horribly shrieks sometimes. The place must be full of spirits!" exclaimed one of the ladies, Ana Arnold.  
  
"Wait, where is this again?" Cania asked. "I was talking to my sons."  
  
"Oh, the old Bushbury place. Rarely ever see Mr. Bushbury anyway. He's very anti-social," said Ana, gesturing absent-mindedly with her wand. All the ladies nodded apologetically. "And as I was saying, about once every month or so, I hear all these horrible shrieks and wails and scratches! I bet the place is full of evil spirits!" Most of the women whispered their agreements, but Karol shook her head.  
  
"I bet it's probably someone like Peeves. He always was a mischief-maker."  
  
"Peeves?" Cania asked uncertainly.  
  
"Oh yes, that's right. You didn't go to Hogwarts. Well, Peeves was the poultergeist there. Right annoying thing he was! (the ladies tut-tutted at that) He was the loudest thing you'd ever see!"  
  
"Oh," Cania murmured. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to get some pumpkin juice." The circle nodded and she stood up. As she poured herself a glass of the pumpkin punch she stared up at the yellow moon accusingly. It was bad enough that she didn't understand the magical world she lived in, or that she didn't have a speck of magic in her, or that her sons got teased at school for being halfbloods, but to be reminded of that! She knew the witches looked down their noses at her. For what was she but a muggle, who had a wealthy wizard for a husband. With a scowl on her normally placid face, she downed the punch in one gulp and reached for a pasty and a butterbeer. Sighing, she looked back to the full moon, then down at the Bushbury place. Did she just hear something? Cania listened closely, over the noise of the party and the quidditch players. Yes, there it was again, a faint howl. A terrible coldness arched its way around Cania's insides, chilling her from within. She shivered involuntarily, but took a gulp of butterbeer and walked back to the group of women. No sooner then when her bottom touched the lawn chair, did a horrible, bone-chilling cry ring through the clearing.  
  
"Oh my god!" Cania shouted, bolting back up from her chair. "Remus!" She dashed towards the forest, her stomach feeling hollow and cold. She didn't know how she had instinctively realized it was her son, but there was something about that cry that triggered all her maternal senses to come roaring in. Her feet pounded against the ground as she entered the clearing where all the boys were playing quidditch. "Aaron!!" she screamed, her face contorted and red. "Romule!! Where's Remus? God, what did you do with him???"  
  
The players all looked down at her, confused.  
  
"We set him down over there, mom," Aaron explained, shrugging towards a spot near the edge of the forest. "Why?" He looked worried at his mother's strange behavior. It was then that the other witches came trotting up, along with their husbands. Cania left them to deal with her sons and ran into the forest.  
  
Her body felt empty and her mind was numb. Horrible stories began to run wildly in Cania's brain, about mothers who'd lost their children. Tears began streaming down her face, but she was not aware of it as she blindly dodged roots and stumps. The sounds of an animal ripping something reached her ears as well as a torn, ragged sob from Remus. She entered a clearing and saw what had happened.  
  
There was an enormous gray dog on top of her son. He was flinching, biting and foaming at the mouth as he tore at Remus's face. Remus was letting out horrible sobs and screams as the animal bit him. The full moon illuminated the scene from a break in the leaves.  
  
"No!" Cania screamed hoarsely. She hurridly reached behind her and brandished a heavy stick. "Get off!" she shouted, sobs tearing her throat as she beat the animal. It snarled and turned to her. Cania's lips trembled and the dog backed her up into a tree. It lowered its haunches and began to spring. The woman covered her eyes and-  
  
"Avada Kedavra!!!"  
  
There was a loud thump.  
  
Hesitatingly, Cania opened her eyes and saw the dog, dead on the ground. Her husband, Aaron (Sr.), was standing, his black robes billowing and his face dark. The woman let out a shriek and ran to Remus. She picked him up and sobbed, cradling him in her arms. He stirred a bit, and Cania held him at arm's length stunned. His three-year old eyes teared up and he bawled, "Mommyyyyy!!!!!"  
  
Cania could have cried for joy.  
  
"Give it here," said one of her husband's friends. "I'll heal him for you."  
  
Though the idea of parting with her baby was not really appealing to her at the moment, she reluctantly handed him over to him. Turning her attention back to the dog, she saw Aaron, kneeling over the body, his face ashen gray. Hesitantly, she walked over.  
  
"Oh my god," he muttered. "Oh. My. God."  
  
"Honey?"  
  
"I used an unforgivable curse on. a human."  
  
Cania gave him a look.  
  
"It's a werewolf."  
  
  
  
  
  
~END~  
  
Like? I hope so! Please review! 


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